Holder for filling pillow packages



Jan. 14, 1958 A. A. ROOT 2,819,740

HOLDER FOR FILLING PILLOW PACKAGES Filed Sept. 14, 1955 INVENTOR Andrew A. Roof ATTORNEYS nited States Patent .1

HOLDER FUR FILLING PILLOW PACKAGES Andrew A. Root, Concord, Mass., assignor to Bradley Container Corporation, Maynard, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application September 14, 1955, Serial No. 534,283

3 Claims. (Cl. 141-316) The present invention relates to containers and, more particularly, to an improved holder for supporting packages or bags of the pillow type.

Heretofore, pillow packages or bags have been made from extruded plastic tubular sections which are sealed flat at each end. An inherent defect in the construction of these bags is that it is diflicult to maintain their cylindrical shape due to their tendency to flatten or assume a non-cylindrical or oval configuration when being packed, stored, shipped, or handled, prior to being filled.

Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a simple, efiicient, compact, and economical cylindrical upright holder for releasably supporting plastic containers, in which the holder has means coacting with the container for insuring a major portion of the container or bag assuming and maintaining a substantially cylindrical shape during the filling operation, so that each bag may be uniformly filled to maximum capacity and at a minimum loss or waste of the material fed into the bag.

A further object comprehends the use of an upright tubular holder having an internal diameter slightly larger than the external diameter of the extruded tubular material from which the plastic package or bag is fabricated. The holder is provided with two oppositely disposed axial or longitudinal slots which extend downwardly from its upper end a predetermined distance and terminate in transversely aligned seats for supporting the bottom of the package. The pillow package has an opened mouth at its upper end and is sealed flat at its opposite or lower end, so as to provide a straight rigid strip of such length that, when the package is initially inserted into the holder, the ends of the straight sealed strip protrude outwardly through the slots and are supported by the seats formed by the bottom walls of the slots. The flexible plastic package is inserted a predetermined distance within the holder and below any suitable feeding means, so that a major portion of the cylindrical package is supported by the holder. en the material is inserted into the holder, the outward pressure of the material forces the flexible wall of the package to conform with the cylindrical wall of the holder for a major portion of the length of the package so as to insure the package being filled to its maximum capacity.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying claims and drawmgs.

Referring to the drawings in which is shown a preferred embodiment the invention may assume:

Figure 1 is a side view of a holder constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing a thermo-plastic bag supported therein and with parts removed for clearness of illustration;

Figure 2 is a view taken substantially at right angles to Figure l with parts in section; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure 1 and looking upwardly in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, 10 indicates a tubular elongated holder or support made of any suitable light, durable material, such as metal, plastic, or the like. The holder 10 may rest in an upright position on a suitable base 11 and below a feeding spout or hopper 12, so as to register with the same during the bag-filling operation. The cylindrical holder 10 is of such size as to releasably receive a plastic container such as a filling pillow package or bag 13 made of relatively thin thermo-plastic material and which is formed with a substantially cylina drical elongated body 14 having an opened mouth 15.

or closed lower end of the package and form a flat centrally disposed straight rigid end strip 17 of slightly greater length than the external diameter of the cylindrical holder 10 (Fig. 3).

The holder 10 has diametrically disposed elongated slots 18 extending downwardly from the top 19 thereof a predetermined distance to form transversely spaced supporting seats 19 in the bottom walls of the slots 18 and at points determined by the particular length and size of the flexible pillow package with which the holder is associated. The upright holder 10 is of slightly greater internal diameter than the external diameter of the plastic pillow package 13, so that the latter may be easily inserted or removed therefrom. The end strip 17 of each package is of such length as to project outwardly and laterally as at 20 (Fig. 1) from the slots 18, so that the package, during the filling operation, is firmly supported by the holder and without danger of a major portion of the cross section of the package losing its cylindrical shape. In other words, this novel arrangement of supporting means for the package in the holder insures each package being filled to its maximum capacity. Manifestly, the size and shape of the holder 10 may be varied in accordance with the particular size of the package or bag to be filled.

In operation, the empty plastic flexible pillow package 13 having its lower sealed end formed with the reinforcing strip 17 and its upper end or mouth 15 opened, is inserted into the cylindrical holder 10 until the opposite end portions of the strip 17 rest against the seats 19, so that the extremities 20 of the strip 17 protrude outwardly from the slots 18 (Fig. l). The holder 10 may then be positioned so that the package 13 registers with the filling spout 12, so as to receive a predetermined amount of any suitable material 22. The mouth 15 of the package may be releasably clamped to the spout 12 by a metal band 21. As the material 22 is introduced into each package 13, it causes the latter to expand and conform with the shape of the inner wall of the holder 10. In other words, the resulting action of the cylindrical holder 10 is to force the major portion of the flexible plastic package 13 into a perfect cylindrical shape so as to insure the package being filled to its maximum capacity. After each filling operation, the container 13 is removed from the holder 10 and the mouth or upper end of the container may be closed by a fiat seal.

The straight lower end strip 17 of the flexible container or package is of suflicient strength and rigidity as to be capable of supporting the container in the holder during and after the filling operation without danger of the flexible container sagging at the bottom or becoming disengaged from the slots 18.

It will be understood that the form of the invention shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made as come within the scope of the following claims.

I Elaini:

1; In combination, an upright tubular holder having diametrically disposed slotsextending downwardly from the upper end thereof a predetermined distance and short of the opposite end of the holder, tli lower end walls of the slots forming supporting seats, an empty flexible container insertable in said holder, -said container having a major portion thereof of cylindrical shape so as to conform in shape with the holder, the lower end of the container being sealed flat to form a transverse centrally disposed straight edge strip of greater length than the external diameter of the holder, said strip being slidable in said slots and arranged when the Container is positioned within the holder to rest on saidseats' and extend laterally and outwardly from opposite sides thereof; and feeding means above the container and registering with the open end of the latter for feeding material into the container, said tubular holder coacting with the flexible container to insure a major portion of the cross section of the container assuming a substantially cylindrical shape when the material is fed into the container, so that the latter may be filled to its maximum capacity.

2. The combination, as called for in claim 1, in which means are provided for releasably connecting the upper end of the container to the feeding means during the feeding operatiom 3. The cdmbiiiation, as called for in claim 1, in which the feeding means is in the form of a depending spout and releasablerneans are provided for connecting the confronting ends of the container to the spout. 

